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Even with all the great sharing tools available, none of them beat a simple tell-a-friend form. Done right, these forms make it easy for a fan to send a personalized endorsement of you straight to the inbox of their friends. A few tips on making yours great:
1> Use the sender’s name
2> Offer multiple referrals
3> Protect privacy (and brag about it)
1> Use the sender’s name
When your forms send the referral, make sure they’re from the sender’s address and not from your website. People aren’t expecting emails from you, which means yours are likely to get deleted without opening. Emails from friends, however, get opened, read, and passed along.
2> Offer multiple referrals
The easier you make it to tell multiple friends, the more referrals you get. Your forms should have room to enter at least two or three names and email addresses. Make it obvious you hope they’ll tell all of their friends — not just one.
3> Protect privacy (and brag about it)
Privacy concerns are one of the main reasons people hesitate filling out online forms. Make sure people know you won’t use their info for anything other than sending the referral (and live up to that promise). Put plain-English explanations next to your forms, link to detailed disclosure policies, and let them know they can trust you.
